Bowling ball attachment



July 5, 1949.

'c. M. accHEsNEY BAT/4,90

BOWLING BALL ATTACHMENT Filed Nov. 12, 1947 INVENTOR.

Cizesr/Y/Vac 0286 the bowler.

Patented July 5, 1949 UNITED STATE T FFICE BOWLING BALL ATTACHMENTChester M. MacChesney, Chicago, 111.

Application November 12, 1947, Serial No. 785,255

6 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in bowling ball attachments andits purpose is to provide a device for holding a bowling ball during theact of bowling without the necessity of using the holes which areusually provided in bowling balls to receive the thumb and one or morefingers of The present invention is an improvement on the devicesdescribed and claimed in my Letters Patent of the United States No.2,147,907, dated February 21, 1939, and No. 2,345,205, dated March 28,1944.

While it has long been the practice to provide bowling balls with two orthree holes extending radially inward to receive the thumb and one ortwo fingers of one hand of the bowler, that method of holding the ballduring its delivery has been unsatisfactory because of the tendency ofthe edges of the holes to make the thumb and fingers sore so that it isdifiicult thereafter for the bowler to hold or control the ball. Alsothe presence of the holes unbalances the ball and destroys its truespherical shape so that it is liable to injure the surfaces of the alleyand the pins.

In my prior Letters Patent referred to above,

I furnished the solution for the problems just referred to by providingan auxiliary ball holding device which consisted, broadly speaking, of ahandle to be held by the bowler and provided with one or two suctioncups adapted to be pressed against the surface of the ball with theresult that the ball is held by the cups and may be lifted and swung bythe handle, the ball being released at the desired point in the swing byopening to the atmosphere a passage leading through the handle to thecup or cups. While that device has proven entirely satisfactory in use,it has been subject to the limitation that it is not well adapted fordelivering a so-called curve or hook ball because the release of theball by the holding attachment is practically instantaneous and there isno opportunity to impart a twist or spin to the ball at the instant ofdelivery. The use of the device has therefore been limited largely tothe delivery of straight balls.

The principal object of the present invention is to overcome thedifliculty just referred to by providinga bowling ball attachment whichwill effect a delayed release of the ball when the suction passage isopened to the atmosphere so that the bowler can impart a spin to theball at the time of its delivery to the alley. A further object is toprovide a holding device for a bowling ball comprising a handle carryingone or more suction cups and having an internal passage 55 adapted to becontrolled by the thumb of the bowler and leading to the interiors ofsaid cups, in combination with one or more smaller auxiliary suctioncups, each of which is located within one of the first mentioned cupsand has no connection with the air vent passage so that it maintains itsgrip on the ball momentarily after the grip of the larger cup has beenreleased. The weight and momentum of the ball will release the ball fromthe auxiliary cups shortly after the ball has been released by the mainsuction cups but there is a sufiicient interval of time between the tworeleases to enable the bowler to impart a twist or spin to the ball sothat it will follow a curved path on the alley. Other objects of theinvention relate to various features of construction arrangement whichwill appear more fully hereinafter.

The nature of the invention will be understood from the followingspecification, taken with the accompanying drawings in which oneembodiment is illustrated. In the drawings,

Figure 1 shows a side elevation of the improved attachment shown ingripping position with respect to a bowling ball;

Fig. 2 shows a top plan view of the bowling ball attachment illustratedin Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows an enlarged vertical section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig.2; and

Fig. 4 shows an enlarged plan view of one of the main suction cups andits associated auxiliary suction cup embodied in the construction shownin Figs. 1 and 2.

As illustrated in the drawings, the invention is applied to a bowlingball 10 of the usual size and weight which has an unbroken sphericalsurface adapted to be engaged by the bowling attachment l which is heldin the hand of the bowler. This attachment comprises a metal frame 12having a body portion 12a forming a handle adapted to be held in thehand of the bowler and this frame is turned downwardly at its ends toprovide two transversely extending and slightly converging arms [2bwhich are secured at their extremities within the annular flanges 65a ofthe rubber suction cups 15.

These cups 15 are relatively inclined so that they may be fitted intoengagement with different portions of the spherical surface of the ballID, as shown in Fig. 1. The frame l2 has an internal air passage I20extending continuously through the handle portion IZa and the armslZband communicating with the interiors of the cups l5 through passages15b formed therein. This air passage I20 has a port lZd leading to theatmosphere through a tube l6 inserted in the frame at one end of thehandle portion I 2a. The port I2d is closed by the thumb of the bowlerwhen the flexible suction cups I5 are pressed into engagement with theball and during the bowling swing. At the end of the swing, when thebowler wishes to release the ball onto the alley, the thumb is raised,thereby admitting air at atmospheric pressure to the interiors of thecups l5 so that they lose their grip on the ball.

In order to permit the use of this bowling ball attachment for impartinga spin or twist to the ball at the instant of delivery, the cups l5 areprovided with integral centrally located auxiliary rubber suction cupsI5c each of which has a curved under surface I50! adapted under pressureto conform to the surface of the ball I and to form a continuation ofthe inner arcuate surface le of the associated main suction cup when thedevice is applied to the ball as shown in Fig. 1. These auxiliary cupsWe are adapted to be pressed into gripping engagement with the 'ball H]at the same time that the main cups l5 are forced into the grippingengagement shown in Fig. 1, the air being then squeezed out of theauxiliary :cups so that they lie on the ball surface. When the device isdetached from the ball, as shown by full lines in Fig. 3, both the mainsuction cups and the auxiliary suction cups contract somewhat from theirball engaging formations so that their arcuate surfaces l5d and l5e areof greater curvature and the annular slot t5) between each auxiliary cupand its associated main cup is enlarged. But when the cups are appliedto the ball as shown by dotted lines at the left of Fig. 3, the surfaces05d and We are continuous.

Upon delivering the ball in the act of bowling, the bowler raises histhumb from the mouth of the port lZd substantially at the instant whenthe ball is to be delivered onto the alley, whereupon the main suctioncups [5 will lose their grips on the ball but the auxiliary cups I50will maintain their grips on the ball momentarily and during thisinstant the bowler can impart a spin to the ball by giving the handleportion I211 an appropriate twist before the weight and momentum of theball I 0 causes it to tear itself from the relatively small auxiliarycups, thus causing the ball to follow a curved or hooked path on thealley. The extent of this delayed holding action .on the ball may beregulated by adjusting the sizes of the auxiliary cups.

Although one form of the invention has been shown-and described by wayof illustration, it will be understood that it may be constructed invarious other embodiments which come within the scope of the appendedclaims.

Iclaim:

1. The combination with a bowling ball of a handle, a main suction cupcarried by said handle and adapted to be pressed into grippingengagement with said ball, and an auxiliary suction cup carried by saidhandle within said first named cup and adapted to be pressed intogripping engagement with said ball.

2. The combination with a bowling ball of a handle, a main suction cupcarried by said handle and adapted to be pressed into grippingengagement with said ball, means for causing said suction cup to releaseits grip on said ball during the act of bowling, and an auxiliarysuction cup adapted to be pressed into gripping engagement with saidball and to maintain its grip on said ball after said ball has beenreleased by said main suction cup.

3. The combination with a bowling ball of a handle, a main suction cupcarried by said handle and adapted to be pressed into grippingengagement with said ball, means for causing said suction cup to releaseits grip on said ball during the act of bowling, and an auxiliarysuction cup located withinsaid main suction cup and adapted to bepressed into gripping engagement with said ball and to maintain its gripon said ball after said ball has been released by said main suction cup.

4. An attachment for a bowling ball comprising a frame. a pair of mainsuction cups mounted on said frame and adapted to be pressed intogripping engagement with said ball, said frame having airpassages'therethrough communicating with the interiors of said cups andhaving a port leading to the atmosphere but adapted to be closed by thebowler'when said suction cups are pressed into gripping engagement withsaid ball, and a pair of auxiliary suction cups adapted to pressed intogripping engagement with said )all.

5. An attachment for a bowling ball comprising a frame, a pair of mainsuction cups mounted on said frame .and adapted to be pressed intogripping engagement with said ball, said frame having air passagestherethrough communicating with the interiors of said cups and having aport leading to the atmosphere but adapted to be closed by the bowlerwhen said suction cups are pressed into gripping engagement with saidball, and a pair of auxiliary suction cups each located within oneofsaid main suction cups and adapted to be pressed intogripping'engagement with said ball when said main suction cups arepressed into engagement with said ball.

5. An attachment for a bowling ball comprising a frame, a suction cupmounted on said frame and adapted to be pressed into gripping engagementwith said ball, said frame having an air passage therethroughcommunicating with the interior of said cup, said passage having a portadapted to be closed by the bowler when said cup is pressed intogripping engagement with said ball, and an auxiliary suction cup locatedwithin said first-named cup and adapted to be pressed into grippingengagement with said ball, said auxiliary cup having no connection withsaid air passage.

CHESTER M. MACCHESNEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,506,778 Senn Sept. 2, 19242,345,205 MacChesney Mar. 28, 1944

